Gadaa
{{Short description|Governance system practiced among Oromo community}}
File:Professor Asmerom Legesse in Abbaa Gadaa cloth.jpg
Gadaa (pronounced "Geda" meaning "The Gateway" in Oromoo language) is the indigenous system of governance used by the Oromos in Ethiopia and northern Kenya.{{cite web|url= https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/gada-system-an-indigenous-democratic-socio-political-system-of-the-oromo-01164|title= Gada system, an indigenous socio-political system of the Oromo|website=unesco.org}} It is also practiced by the Konso, Burji and Gedeo people of southern Ethiopia. The system regulates political, economic, social and religious activities of the community.{{citation|title=Intro to the Gadaa System|url=https://ollaa.org/introduction-to-gadaa-system/}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{citation|title=Oromo Indigenous Philosophy (Gadaa System): The Case of 74th Gujii Oromo Gadaa Power Transition|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234668768.pdf}}
Under Gadaa, every eight years, the Oromo would choose by consensus nine leaders known as {{lang|om|Salgan ya’ii Borana}} (the nine Borana assemblies).{{ cite journal|author = Galla, Candace|year = 2012|pages = 46–48|title = Sustaining generations of Indigenous voices: Reclaiming language and integrating multimedia technology|journal = {World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium Journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301650149}}{{cite book|author=Tesema Ta'a|title=The Political Economy of an African Society in Transformation: the Case of Macca Oromo (Ethiopia) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XwN2JdMYM4C |year=2006|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-05419-5|pages=26–27}} A leader elected by the gadaa system remains in power only for 8 years, with an election taking place at the end of those 8 years.{{cite book|author=John Ralph Willis|title=Slaves and Slavery in Africa: Volume Two: The Servile Estate|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XM-PAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA137|year=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-78017-3|pages=122–127, 129–134, 137}}{{cite book|author=John Ralph Willis|title=Slaves and Slavery in Africa: Volume Two: The Servile Estate |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HVGRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA128 |year=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-78016-6|pages=128–134}}{{cite book|author=Ira M. Lapidus|title=A History of Islamic Societies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZkJpBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA483|year=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-99150-6|page=483}} Whenever an {{lang|om|Abbaa Gadaa}} dies while exercising his functions, {{lang|om|the bokkuu}} (the symbol of power) passes to his wife and she keeps the bokkuu and proclaims the laws.{{cite web|title=The Gadaa System and Some of Its Institutions among the Booranaa: A Historical Perspective|pages=91–92|website=ajol.info|url=https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ejossah/article/download/159459/149011}}
The Gada system has been inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2016.{{cite web|url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/gada-system-an-indigenous-democratic-socio-political-system-of-the-oromo-01164|title=Gada system, an indigenous democratic socio-political system of the Oromo|website=unesco.org}} It is the brainchild of Oromo from the Meda Welabu district of Oromia.{{ cite web|website=www.opride.com|title=A heroic send-off for Aliyi Cirri, a pioneer Oromo freedom fighter whose courage and bravery inspired generations|date=17 November 2017|url=https://www.opride.com/2017/11/17/heroic-send-off-aliyi-cirri-pioneer-oromo-freedom-fighter/}}{{cite web|website=mwu.edu.et|title=Historical Background|url=http://www.mwu.edu.et/?q=node/283}} Oromo people regarded the system as their common heritage and as a major part of their cultural identity.{{cite web|url=https://www.oromiatourism.gov.et/attachments/article/13/The%20%20Gada%20system.pdf|title=The Gada sysytem; full Dimocratical politics of Oromo;71stBorana BalliHand overing Day Febrawary 2009/20017:The Gada of Kura Jarso.|website=oromiatourism.gov.et|access-date=2019-11-08|archive-date=2021-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418151410/https://www.oromiatourism.gov.et/attachments/article/13/The%20%20Gada%20system.pdf|url-status=dead}} It is the system with which the Oromo people have been governing themselves in a democratic way for centuries.{{cite web|url=https://ethiopianembassy.be/2016/12/01/gada-system-inscribed-in-unesco-as-intangible-world-heritage/|website=ethiopianembassy.be|title=Gada System inscribed in UNESCO as Intangible World Heritage}}{{cite web|url=https://hornaffairs.com/2016/12/01/description-oromo-gada-system/|website=hornaffairs.com|title=Briefing: What is Oromo's Gada system?|date=December 2016}}
The Oromo governed themselves in accordance with the Gadaa system long before the 16th century, when major three party wars commenced between them and the Ethiopian Empire to their north and Adal Sultanate to their east and south. The result was that Oromo absorbed of the Christian and Islam religions.{{Clarify|date=October 2024 |reason=What does it means to "absorb of" a religion?}} The Boorana and Gujii Oromo groups near the Ethiopian-Kenyan border were able to practice Gadaa without interruption. In the state of Oromia under the Federal system of Ethiopia, the Gadaa system started a renaissance across Oromia. In 2015, the Gadaa Center at Odaa Bultum was inaugurated and in 2018, the Gadaa Center at Odaa Hullee reinstalled after two centuries of interruption.{{cite web|url=https://oromianeconomist.com/category/odaa-bultum/|title=The 2015 Commemoration of Odaa-Bultum (One of the Major Oromo Gadaa System's Administrative Centers)|website=Oromianeconomist.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ju.edu.et/?q=featured-stories/journey-revitalizing-gadaa-odaa-hullee-tracing-jimma-university%E2%80%99s-unwavering|website=ju.edu.et|title=A Journey to Revitalizing Gadaa at Odaa Hullee: Tracing Jimma University's Unwavering Commitment}} In 2019, Bule Hora University launched a master's degree program in Gadaa studies.{{cite web |url=https://www.bhu.edu.et/news |title=Bule Hora University Journey |website=bhu.edu.et |access-date=2019-11-27 |archive-date=2020-06-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601185946/http://bhu.edu.et/news |url-status=dead }}
Characteristics
= Luba =
The Gadaa society was structured into peer groups based on chronological age or genealogical generation called {{lang|om|Luba}}. Each {{lang|om|luba}} consists of all of the sons in another particular class. The entire grade progresses through eleven different grades, each based on an eight-year cycle, and each with its own set of rights and responsibilities.{{cite web |last1=Participedia Contributors |title=The Gadaa System of the Oromo People |url=https://participedia.xyz/method/4865 |website=Participedia.net |accessdate=29 January 2019}}
| class="wikitable"
! ! Daballe ! Junior Gaammee ! Foollee ! Kuusaa ! Raabaa Doorii ! Gadaa ! Yuuba I ! Yuuba II & III ! Gadaamoojjii ! Jaarsa |
| scope=row | Age
|0-8 |9-16 |17-24 |25-32 |33-40 |41-48 |49-56 |57-64 & 65-72 |73-80 |>80 |
|---|
| scope=row | Characters
| No responsibility | Student | Military trainee | Military | Warrior | Leader | Advisor | Repositories of law | Conducts Rites | No responsibility |
The grade passes from one stage of development to the next every eight years.
= Baallii =
{{lang|om|Baallii}} is a process of transferring power from one Gadaa party to the next.
= Gadaa Party ({{lang|om|Gogeessa Gadaa}}) =
There are five Gadaa parties known as {{lang|om|shanan Gadaa Oromoo}}. These parties follow the five world views of the Oromo people. The five Gadaa parties orderly come to power. A party come to power once every forty years. Hence, there would not be direct competition among the five Gadaa parties, rather the competition would be among individuals within a party. The five Gadaa parties have different names among Boorana, Maccaa-Tuulama, Arsii, Gujii and Ituu-Humbannaa.{{cite journal|url=https://journals.ju.edu.et/index.php/gadaa/issue/download/3/c|title=A Future Gaze: Gadaa Oriented Constitutional Structure for Oromia|pages=15–16|journal=Gadaa Journal|first1=Zelalem|last1=Sirna}}{{cite news|website=bbc.com|title=Waa'ee Gadaa wantoota beekuu qabdan shan|trans-title=Five things you should know about Gadaa|url=https://www.bbc.com/afaanoromoo/oduu-42218860}}
| class="wikitable"
|+ Gadaa Parties ! Boorana ! Maccaa-Tuulama ! Arsii ! Gujii ! Ituu-Humbannaa |
| Meelba / Harmufaa
|Birmajii |Birmajii |Harmufa |Horata |
| Muudana / Roobalee
|Michilee / Muudana |Roobalee |Roobalee |Dibbaaqa |
| Kiilolee / Birmajii
|Duuloo / Halchiisa |Bahara |Muudana |Dibbeessa |
| Biifolee / Muldhata
|Meelbaa / Hambissaa |Horata |Halchiisa |Fadata |
| Michilee / Duuloo
|Roobalee |Daraara | | |
Research
Several scholars have studied Gadaa. Asmarom Legesse wrote that Gadaa is "one of the most astonishing and instructive turns the evolution of human society has taken".Asmarom Legesse, "Gadaa: Three Approaches to the Study of African Society", 1973 In addition to his Harvard PhD dissertation, Legesse published a book, Oromo Democracy, that positions Gadaa as an African democracy that could inform constitutional thinkers. Donald N. Levine said Gadaa is "one of the most complex systems of social organization ever devised by the human imagination". For Jalata, Gadaa represents "the totality of Oromo civilization".Donald Levine, "Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society", 1974
Role of women
Primarily, Gadaa system is an ancient philosophy of socio-political system that responsible for regulating Political stability, Economic growth, social services, Cultural commitments, Ethical contract of the religious order of the Oromo society and practice Gadaa Democracy that require equal participation of both male and female. Still academically debatable as Oromo women have no influences throughout the age of Gadaa decree or clan leadership structure but the wife of designated Abbaa Gadaa is equitably treated like the Abbaa Gadaa himself.{{citation|title=Oromo Indigenous Philosophy (Gadaa System): The Case of 74th Gujii Oromo Gadaa Power Transition|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234668768.pdf}} Siinqee feminist represent women in the Gadaa system.{{citation|title=Oromo Indigenous Philosophy (Gadaa System): The Case of 74th Gujii Oromo Gadaa Power Transition|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234668768.pdf}}
Current status
Considering the symbolic significance of Gadaa for the Oromo, as well as its structural innovations, researchers in law, indigenous studies, and pan-Africanism are exploring how the system could be utilized in the 21st century. For example, a thesis by Z. SirnaZ. Sirna, "Ethiopia: When the Gadaa Democracy Rules in a Federal State", 2012 entitled "Ethiopia: When the Gadaa Democracy Rules in a Federal State" explores how the system could be integrated with the contemporary federal structure of Ethiopia, serving as a governance mechanism for the Oromia Regional National State. Sirna has analyzed the Gadaa system in relation to deliberative forms of political participation used in Western contexts. He concludes that the Gadaa systems' technique of 'consensus through dialogue' is unique but firmly rooted in Western democratic norms, and thus well suited to adoption within Ethiopia's federally structured democracy.{{cite web |last1=Participedia Contributors |title=The Gadaa System of the Oromo People |url=https://participedia.xyz/method/4865 |website=Participedia.net |accessdate=29 January 2019}}
A political party known as GSAP (Gadaa System Advancement Party) bases its ideology on the principles of Gadaa. A futuristic, governance 2.0 project called BitGadaa{{Cite web|url=http://bitgadaa.org/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909084519/http://bitgadaa.org/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2015-09-09|title=BitGadaa {{!}} Futuristic African Democracy|date=2015-09-09|access-date=2019-10-30}} draws inspiration from the principles and structure of Gadaa.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- Ulrich Braukämper, Layers Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia (2003)
- Joseph Van de Loo, "Guji Oromo Culture in Southern Ethiopia." Berlin: Reimer, 1991.
- Asmarom Legesse, "Gadaa: Three Approaches to the Study of African Society", 1973
- Donald Levine, "Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society", 1974
- Asmarom Legesse, "Oromo Democracy: an Indigenous African Political System", 2006
- Asafa Jalata, Gadaa (Oromo Democracy): An Example of Classical African Civilization, Journal of Pan-African Studies (2012)
- Tenna Dewo. 2008. The Concept of Peace in the Oromo Gadaa System: Its Mechanisms and Moral Dimension. Journal of Oromo Studies 15.1: 139-180. [http://oromostudies.org/OSA-USER-FOLDER/josfiles/JOS%20Volume%2015%20Number%201%202008.pdf Web access]{{Dead link|date=December 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
- Z. Sirna, "Ethiopia: When the Gadaa Democracy Rules in a Federal State", 2012
- Participedia Contributors, "The Gadaa System of the Oromo People," last modified September 7, 2018, Retrieved from https://participedia.xyz/method/4865
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